Prof. Father Alberto Carrara, LC Member of the Pontifical Academy for Life (PAV); Dean of the Faculty of Philosophy and Director of the Neurobioethics Research Group (GdN) at the Pontifical Athenaeum Regina Apostolorum; President of the International Institute of Neurobioethics (IINBE); one of the world’s leading experts in neuroethics of the International Neuroethics Society (INS) and Founding Member of the International College of Neuroethics and Neuroscience (ICONN)
Following the recent death of Pope Francis, the Church and the wider world are reflecting on the profound and prophetic legacy of his magisterium. Among the most significant achievements of his pontificate was the renewal, beginning in 2017, of the Pontifical Academy for Life, which he revitalized as a cultural laboratory and a forum for interdisciplinary dialogue on the pressing challenges of our time. In an age characterized by rapid medical, scientific, and technological advances, Pope Francis championed a global and relational vision of bioethics—one that integrates the care for human life with a deep commitment to social justice, the fight against inequality, ecological stewardship, and the ethical governance of innovation.
This study seeks to offer a chronicle spanning from 2013 to 2025, focusing especially on his interventions at the Pontifical Academy for Life. It highlights the common threads, thematic developments, and principal doctrinal contributions of his teaching. In light of his passing, it offers an opportunity to reexamine the anthropological and spiritual vision that animated his bioethical thought—a vision aimed at humanizing technology, recognizing every life as sacred, and addressing the emerging challenges of robo-ethics, algor-ethics, and neuro-ethics with evangelical wisdom and a global sense of responsibility.
Reform of the Academy and new impetus (2013-2017)
Pope Francis ascended to the papacy in 2013, inheriting the Pontifical Academy for Life (PAV), which had been established by St. John Paul II in 1994 with the mission of defending and promoting human life at every stage. Early in his pontificate, Francis undertook a significant reform of the Academy: in 2016, he renewed its Statutes and appointed Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia as its President, expanding its research horizons beyond traditional bioethical concerns—such as abortion and euthanasia—toward a more global and integrative perspective. This renewal culminated in a programmatic address on October 5, 2017, when he received the participants of the XXIII General Assembly of the PAV in audience.
On that occasion, the Pope denounced a “culture obsessively centered on the sovereignty of man,” which he described as egolatry—a cult of the self upon whose altar even the most cherished human affections are sacrificed. This individualistic and technocratic mindset, he warned, commodifies life, aligning itself with a materialism “that treats life as a resource to be exploited or discarded according to the dictates of power and profit.” The consequences, he noted, are devastating: while technical and economic advancements are celebrated, “the territories of poverty, rejection, and abandonment” continue to expand, leaving the most vulnerable—the poor, the elderly, and the marginalized—further behind.
In the face of this “fracture between generations” and a society that has “lost the meaning of life” through the commodification of existence, Pope Francis called the Church to engage in a positive “cultural revolution”: to reclaim the generative alliance between man and woman, the foundation of both family and society. This alliance, sealed by the fruitful love of marriage, is tasked with “taking the direction of the whole society into its hands,” assuming responsibility not only within culture, politics, and the economy, but also within the Church itself. “The generative alliance of man and woman is a bulwark for global humanism… Our history will not be renewed if we reject this truth,” Francis proclaimed, sketching a vision of integral humanism that weaves together the ethics of life and the pursuit of social justice.
In continuity with tradition—citing, for instance, Pius XII on end-of-life issues—Francis reaffirmed classical moral principles, such as the protection of unborn and dying life and the rejection of euthanasia, yet he situated them within a broader framework of “human ecology” and care for human fragility.
A particularly significant moment in this early period was the Message on the “end of life,” sent by Francis to the President of the PAV on November 16, 2017, on the occasion of a medical conference. In this document, the Pope clarified that “there is no obligation to employ all available therapeutic means at all costs,” and that, in certain circumstances, it is “morally permissible to forego” disproportionate treatments—an act distinct from euthanasia and instead a “renunciation of therapeutic obstinacy.” This decision, he explained, “responsibly accepts the limits of the mortal condition,” while euthanasia remains “always illicit, as it intentionally ends life.”
Thus, Pope Francis reaffirmed the Church’s traditional teaching on end-of-life ethics—consistent with Pius XII and subsequent Magisterium—while urging a deeper pastoral sensitivity. Modern medicine, he observed, can prolong life under conditions once unimaginable, but “this does not always equate to promoting health.” It is essential to discern, case by case, the integral good of the person, avoiding both the abandonment of the sick and the excesses of therapeutic obstinacy, and instead embodying the evangelical “compassion” that he proposed as a fundamental ethical principle.
Towards a global bioethics: life, justice, and our common home (2018-2019)
In his address to the General Assembly of the Pontifical Academy for Life on June 25, 2018, Pope Francis explicitly introduced the concepts of “human ecology” and “global bioethics.” He spoke of the “ethical and spiritual quality of life in all its stages,” listing human existence as “conceived… in gestation… born… as a child… adolescent… adult… elderly and worn out—and there is eternal life.” He likewise emphasized life within the family and community, life in sickness, disability, and marginalization: “It is always human life,” he insisted. This continuous vision of existence—from conception to eternal life—reaffirms the inviolable dignity of every human being.
Francis integrates biological, existential, and transcendent perspectives, asserting that human life fully expresses itself through the marvel of speech, thought, affection, and spirit—dimensions that resist reduction to purely technical or scientific terms. He provocatively asks: “What political culture inspires the promotion and protection of real human life?” The Pope contrasts the “beautiful work of life”—generating new people, educating them in love within family and society, tending to their wounds and vulnerabilities—with the “dirty work of death.” This latter work, he argues, is not limited to practices like abortion and euthanasia but extends to every offense against the dignity of life, such as the abandonment of the vulnerable and indifference to suffering. “When we hand over children to deprivation, the poor to hunger, the persecuted to war, the elderly to abandonment,” Francis asks, “are we not performing the ‘dirty work of death’?”
Against this deadly logic—where sin and the culture of waste persuade humanity that some lives are not worth caring for—Francis proposes a renewal of bioethics. Inspired by “integral ecology,” as outlined in Laudato si’, he calls for a broader, Christian-rooted bioethics that works to “defuse complicity with the dirty work of death” on a global scale. This new approach intertwines the ethics of human life with environmental stewardship, the fight against poverty, and the promotion of a “culture of tenderness” toward the most fragile. Bioethics must no longer begin “from illness and death to determine the meaning of life and the value of the person,” as utilitarian or quality-of-life approaches often do. Instead, it must start “from the profound conviction of the irrevocable dignity of the human person… in every phase and condition of existence,” always seeking “forms of love and care” appropriate to each person’s fragility.
This represents a masterful formulation of Francis’ ethical personalism, one that links the sacredness of life with the care for our common home and the pursuit of social justice. It is no coincidence that he speaks of “planetary humanism,” calling for a new paradigm that unites the defense of life (from conception to natural death) with solidarity toward the poor and the pursuit of environmental sustainability. In this broader vision, Francis renews and expands upon the previous Magisterium: alongside the firm condemnation of abortion and euthanasia—“drifts that must be opposed,” as he often reiterates—he denounces the abandonment of the living: migrants, the disabled, the elderly, and victims of war and poverty, insisting that “it is always the same life” that is at stake.
This vision was further codified at the beginning of 2019 in the Apostolic Letter Humana communitas, written by Pope Francis on January 6, 2019, to mark the 25th anniversary of the PAV. The Letter, whose title means “Human Community,” recalls God’s dream of a fraternal and supportive humanity. Francis develops a theology of creation and redemption centered on relationships, portraying the human family as a “community with a common origin and a common destiny,” called to bear witness to God’s love in history. Humana communitas reiterates the call to renew the “humanism of life,” an integral vision that links the defense of life with the promotion of dignity in every domain.
Importantly, the Letter also addresses the novel challenges posed by scientific developments, explicitly mentioning “emerging and converging technologies” such as genetic engineering, neuroscience, and artificial intelligence—technologies that touch upon the very definition of the human being. Francis affirms that “the difference of human life is an absolute good,” reasserting the unique character of the human person against all forms of technocratic reductionism.
Shortly after, addressing participants in the PAV Plenary Assembly (February 25, 2019), the Pope built upon the themes of Humana communitas. He thanked the Academy’s members for 25 years of service and noted the “dramatic paradox” of the modern era: while science and technology offer unprecedented opportunities for human flourishing, inequalities and conflicts persist—and, in some cases, worsen. The “myth of Enlightenment progress” falters under the weight of these contradictions. Francis denounces the “technocratic system” grounded in pure efficiency, which fails to respond to the deepest human questions and instead imposes its instrumental logic on society. Technology, although a hallmark of humanity, if not ethically directed, risks inverting the relationship between means and ends: “instead of providing tools that serve human life, we risk handing life over to devices that determine its value.” The danger, he warns, is that “the machine ends up driving the man,” reducing human reason to mere functional rationality.
In response, Francis calls for a comprehensive global bioethics—an idea first introduced in 2018—that also embraces environmental and social concerns. Such a bioethics recognizes the profound influence of environmental and social factors on human health and life, aligning with the integral ecology championed in Laudato si’. Moreover, in a multicultural and interconnected world, believers are called to contribute to the formulation of “universally shared” ethical principles, fostering dialogue about human rights and duties as a foundation for a universal ethic. This focus on natural law and universal values reflects Francis’ inclusive approach: the Magisterium must speak to “every person of good will,” building bridges in defense of human dignity across global contexts.
In the same 2019 address, the Pope returns to the ethical challenges posed by new technologies. Drawing again on Humana communitas, he highlights the profound impact of “converging technologies”—nanotechnologies, biotechnologies, information technologies, and neurosciences—which increasingly encroach on the very threshold of human spiritual identity. Francis insists that artificial intelligence, robotics, and similar innovations must serve humanity and our common home, not the opposite—a theme he had previously raised in his 2018 Message to the World Economic Forum at Davos.
The two foundational pillars he stresses are human dignity and the common good. The “inherent dignity of every human being” must guide technological development, preventing the attribution of human qualities to “so-called intelligent machines,” which remain unconscious instruments. Already visible is his call for an algorethics—an ethics of algorithms and artificial intelligence. Francis critiques the very language of “artificial intelligence” as misleading: while automatized systems may perform complex tasks, they remain “qualitatively distant” from the human capacities for knowing and acting. The greater risk, he argues, is not that machines become humanlike, but that human beings become “technologized” and lose their essential humanity.
Thus, Francis urges a careful reexamination of key concepts like intelligence, consciousness, emotionality, and moral autonomy, so that technological regulation ensures a “fair interaction” between humans and machines, always in the service of humanity. He also draws attention to the challenges of algorithmic governance and the ethical dangers of genetic and brain manipulation. Firmly rejecting neuroscientific reductionism, he reminds us that “the human phenomenon exceeds the calculable assembly of its individual parts,” echoing the principle from Evangelii gaudium (2013) that “the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.” Even in the pursuit of self-knowledge and understanding of the world, Francis insists, we must adopt approaches that move beyond the merely quantitative. This emphasis on the irreducible complexity of the human being will remain a constant theme throughout his subsequent teachings.
Algorithmic ethics and emerging new technologies (2020-2021)
In February 2020, shortly before the global outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Pontifical Academy for Life dedicated its Assembly to the theme of artificial intelligence, culminating in the event Rome Call for AI Ethics (February 28, 2020). On this occasion, representatives of the Holy See, major technology companies, and international institutions signed an ethical charter on AI. Although Pope Francis was initially scheduled to participate, due to a minor illness, his prepared speech was instead read by President Paglia. In this address, Francis condensed his reflections on the ethical implications of the digital revolution.
He first observes that the “digital galaxy, and particularly artificial intelligence, lies at the heart of the epochal change we are witnessing.” Digital innovation, he notes, permeates every dimension of life—personal, social, and cultural—reshaping the way we understand ourselves and the world. Today, “even the most significant decisions—in medical, economic, and social spheres—are influenced by human will combined with algorithmic contributions,” such that “the personal act now stands at the intersection of human intention and automatic calculation.” Consequently, it becomes increasingly difficult to grasp the full scope of these decisions, predict their outcomes, and assign clear responsibilities.
Francis thus highlights a critical concern of the algorithmic age: the challenge of accountability when machines participate in human decision-making, such as in AI-assisted diagnostics or financial algorithms. He then reflects on the broader transformations enabled by converging technosciences, which “blur once-clear boundaries between inorganic and organic, real and virtual, stable identities and dynamic processes.” This alludes to advances in biotechnology, virtual reality, and fluid conceptions of identity—challenges that deeply question Christian anthropology.
In the face of possible human-machine hybridization, Francis reaffirms the need to preserve the ontological uniqueness of the human being. He cautions against hastily attributing “properly human capacities” to machines and insists that human dignity must always remain central: “the risk is not that technology will become humanized, but that humanity will be technologized.” Thus, he calls for deeper reflection on concepts like intelligence and consciousness to avoid anthropological errors.
Elsewhere, Francis has called for an urgent “algor-ethics”—an ethics of algorithms—to guide AI development toward the common good. In this 2020 speech, he renews this appeal, emphasizing the need to “orient regulation and research toward a constructive and equitable interaction between human beings and the latest generations of machines.” If ethical foundations are firmly maintained, he asserts, “the extraordinary potential of new technologies can truly benefit every person and the whole of humanity.” Francis does not demonize technology—he firmly rejects any form of Luddism—but insists on the necessity of ethical governance. He underscores the need for a global consensus to ensure that digital and biotechnological advancements serve humanity, rather than deepen injustices or undermine the sanctity of life and dignity.
On that occasion, he warmly welcomed the participation of political leaders (such as the President of the European Parliament) and representatives from major technology firms, signaling the importance of a multidisciplinary and multistakeholder dialogue on the ethical challenges posed by new technologies.
Alongside his reflections on technology, Pope Francis continued to emphasize the intrinsic value of every human life, particularly the most vulnerable. The outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic became, for him, a mirror reflecting global inequalities and a crucial “lesson” for humanity not to squander.
In September 2021, the Pontifical Academy for Life held its Plenary Assembly on the theme of “Public Health in the Context of Globalization,” during which Francis delivered a speech (September 27, 2021) connecting the health crisis to themes from his encyclicals Fratelli tutti and Laudato si’. He pointed out that the pandemic revealed the profound interdependence not only among human beings but also between humanity and our common home. Quoting Laudato si’, he recalled the “double cry” of the earth and the poor—a cry that must not leave us indifferent. “We must not be deaf,” Francis urges, but listen and discern the lessons that the Covid-19 experience offers.
He notes how societies, particularly in the West, were lulled into a false sense of security and had “forgotten this interconnectedness”. Now, he says, it is urgent to reverse course, emphasizing the need for a synergy of disciplines—biology, medicine, economics, sociology, ecology, and others—to achieve a more holistic understanding of health (vatican.va). Applying the method of see-judge-act, Francis advocates first carefully listening to reality, then fostering a conversion of heart, and finally making concrete decisions aimed at building a better future.
Significantly, Francis situates the work of the Academy within this broader process of ecclesial and human discernment in the wake of the pandemic. He recalls his words: “The only thing worse than this crisis is the tragedy of wasting it.” In particular, he denounces global health inequalities. Diseases like malaria and tuberculosis, he points out, cause millions of preventable deaths annually due to the lack of basic care—yet they fail to arouse the same urgency or mobilization as Covid-19.
Francis highlights the danger of “ethical myopia”: the tendency to focus only on threats that affect affluent societies while neglecting the chronic suffering endured by poorer populations. “We should be mindful of what it means to be vulnerable and live in precarious conditions daily,” he urges, so that we may become “responsible also for the serious conditions in which others live and which we have so far paid little attention to.” He warns against projecting the concerns of wealthy societies onto the entire world, noting, for instance, how discussions of lockdowns or hygiene measures seem surreal in places without housing or access to clean water.
This pastoral realism underlines his conviction that health is a universal good, to be promoted equitably and everywhere. Francis welcomes efforts toward equitable vaccine distribution, but insists that equal priority must be given to ensuring access to drinking water, food, and basic healthcare for all peoples.
This reflection on health and inequality connects to his broader vision of global bioethics: understanding health in all its dimensions reveals the interconnectedness of political, environmental, and social conditions. Drawing on Fratelli tutti, he stresses the importance of strengthening the “fabric of social friendship” and fostering a “culture of fraternity and encounter” essential for building a just coexistence.
Ultimately, for Francis, the experience of the pandemic becomes a powerful occasion to reaffirm that every human life matters—not just that of the rich, the young, or the healthy, but also the lives of the elderly, the fragile, and those living on the peripheries of society. It is a profound expansion of the Church’s teaching on the sanctity of life, adapted to the complexities of our globalized, contemporary world.
Anthropology and technology: recent challenges (2022-2025)
In recent years, Pope Francis has continued to address the Pontifical Academy for Life (PAV), focusing both on the anthropological foundations of bioethics and on the challenges posed by new scientific and technological frontiers. In his address to the General Assembly on February 20, 2023 (theme: “Converging on the Person: Emerging Technologies for the Common Good”), he identified three major challenges.
The first concerns the transformation of human living conditions in the technological age. The Pope notes that the interdependence between humanity and our “common home” has become more evident amid the rapid development of technical means. Citing St. Paul VI and Populorum Progressio, Francis acknowledges the positive contributions of technological progress to human flourishing, but emphasizes that recent global crises—pandemics, climate change, migration, and energy shortages—highlight the urgent need for sustainable and integral development. Ethics and technology, he insists, must advance together: “healthy technological development” must take into account the complex interplay of social and environmental factors.
The second challenge concerns the very definition of “human being” and “relationship” in the era of emerging technologies, with special attention to the vulnerable. “The technological form of human experience is becoming more pervasive every day,” Francis observes, making it increasingly difficult to distinguish between the natural and the artificial, the biological and the technological. Thus, a serious reflection on the value of the human being is urgently needed. He insists on the centrality of personal conscience as a relational experience, rooted in corporeality and cultural belonging. Consequently, he warns, “technology cannot replace human contact, the virtual cannot substitute for the real, nor can social media replace genuine social interaction.” Francis cautions against the “ugly temptation” to allow the virtual to prevail over direct, authentic human relationships.
Even within scientific and medical research, he notes, the growing use of big data and automation poses new ethical questions—particularly regarding the balance between protecting health data privacy and fostering data sharing for the common good. While it would be unjust to demand excellent healthcare without contributing to research, it is equally vital to ensure that patients’ dignity is never compromised. More broadly, Francis calls for equitable access to healthcare innovations to reduce inequalities and protect the most vulnerable—the disabled, the sick, and the poor—thus reasserting the principle of justice as an integral part of bioethics.
The third challenge identified in 2023 pertains to the very concept of knowledge. Francis observes that methods of knowing have moral consequences: it is “reductive,” he says, to explain phenomena solely through the properties of individual elements. Instead, systemic approaches are needed—those capable of grasping the intricate “intertwining of relationships” within complex realities. In the field of biotechnology, this means avoiding a fragmented view of the human person as a collection of parts to be enhanced independently—resisting the myth of the “augmented human”—and remembering the relational nature of the human being. This epistemological reflection echoes his 2019 teachings on the irreducible complexity of the human person (vatican.va). At its heart, Francis critiques scientistic reductionism: even in the era of AI and neuroscience, the truth remains that the human whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Ethics must therefore vigilantly safeguard the full, unified dignity of the human being in the face of emerging technologies.
In his speech on February 12, 2024, marking the 30th anniversary of the PAV (assembly theme: “Human: Meanings and Challenges”), Pope Francis further developed these anthropological themes. He posed the fundamental question: “What qualifies a human being?”—an ancient query rendered urgent by modern technological capabilities. Here, Francis demonstrates the characteristic balance of his magisterium: “It is not possible to be a priori ‘for’ or ‘against’ machines and technologies, because this alternative, applied to human experience, makes no sense.” Symmetrically, he adds, “it is not plausible to rely solely on the distinction between natural and artificial processes, considering the former authentically human and the latter as foreign or hostile to humanity.”
Thus, Francis urges us to reject both technophobia and naive technophilia. The real challenge, he insists, lies in integrating science and technology into a broader horizon of meaning, thereby resisting “technocratic hegemony.” Quoting Laudato si’ (n. 108), he warns that technology must be subordinated to a humanistic and teleological vision. Drawing on the biblical image of the Tower of Babel, Francis illustrates the danger of seeking a single, all-encompassing language—today, perhaps an omnipotent digital code—that ultimately leads to confusion and the loss of authentic relationships. God, by contrast, blesses the diversity of languages, reminding humanity of its limitations and the need for mutual respect. This metaphor sheds light on Francis’ approach to AI: not demonization, but vigilance against the temptation to reduce the richness of reality to a single algorithmic logic. Instead, he advocates for a plurality of knowledge and humility before the mystery of life.
In the 2024 address, he also highlights contemporary risks: the temptation to “reproduce the human being by technical means,” reducing the person to a mere aggregate of digitizable performances, and the drift toward a technocratic “single thought” that homogenizes reality. Once again, Francis calls for vigilance, warning against allowing “the virtual to supplant the real” and urging resistance to any technocratic logic that would suppress the true dimensions of meaning and human relationship.
At the beginning of 2025, Pope Francis sent a Message to the PAV General Assembly (March 3, 2025), dedicated to the provocative theme “The End of the World? Crises, Responsibilities, Hopes.” Here, the Pope introduces the concept of “polycrisis,” drawing attention to the interwoven crises of war, climate change, energy shortages, epidemics, migration, and technological disruption. Their convergence, he notes, “forces us to question the fate of the world and our understanding of it.”
Francis urges a profound reexamination of our worldview and a willingness to embrace change, so as not to waste the transformative opportunity that crises offer—an admonition he had already voiced in the context of the pandemic. He links this reflection to the ongoing synodal journey of the universal Church, emphasizing that the “key word” is listening: “The theme of listening is decisive… I appreciate that your way of proceeding adopts this style,” he writes to the PAV members. In this way, Francis positions the Academy’s work as part of the “social prophecy” called for by the Synod: the ability to read the signs of the times and to offer prophetic discernment on urgent issues affecting humanity.
Thus, bioethical discernment becomes deeply integrated into the broader synodal discernment of the Church. Science and conscience must enter into dialogue, and the Church must foster mutual listening among different fields of knowledge, peoples, and generations. This vision confirms one of the major threads running through Francis’ teaching: the need to unite technical and scientific expertise with ethical wisdom and evangelical compassion. Algorithms and the Gospel, he insists, do not belong to separate worlds; the Academy for Life, in the Pope’s vision, is the privileged space where “women and men of science” and the pastors of the Church collaborate to “serve the cause of life and the common good.”
Finally, in his message of greeting for the first Vatican Longevity Summit, held on March 24, 2025, on the theme “Challenging the Clock of Time,” Pope Francis reaffirmed one of the constants of his bioethical vision: the centrality of the elderly. Addressing organizers, speakers, and participants, he expressed his hope that the event would renew attention to the elderly, emphasizing that their presence and witness are an “irreplaceable treasure” for both the Church and society. In a world increasingly seduced by efficiency, productivity, and the cult of youth, Francis reminded all that longevity must not be viewed merely as a biological extension of life, but as a time of grace to be embraced with projects of inclusion, support, and care. His Apostolic Blessing, accompanied by prayer and encouragement, fits seamlessly into his broader framework of a bioethics of closeness and tenderness—where human fragility becomes a privileged place of encounter and shared responsibility.
Common threads and innovative developments
In this journey of more than a decade (2013-2025), some recurring themes and doctrinal developments in Pope Francis’ bioethical teaching clearly emerge:
- The centrality of the dignity of the person and of life at every stage: Francis constantly reaffirms the inviolable value of every human life, from conception to natural death, and indeed “at every stage and condition of its existence”. This is in continuity with the previous magisterium (Evangelium Vitae by John Paul II), but Francis emphasizes its universality with particular force: every human being—unborn, sick, disabled, migrant, elderly, terminally ill—possesses an irrevocable dignity that technologies, laws, and policies must respect. Emblematic is his condemnation of the “culture of waste,” a concept he often evokes: there are no “waste” or useless lives. Even when speaking of the end of life, the Pope affirms that the answer is never to eliminate the suffering person, but to accompany them with compassion, avoiding both aggressive medical treatment and abandonment. Compassion (cum-passio: “suffering with”) becomes a fundamental ethical criterion for Francis: “tenderness” and “closeness” towards those who suffer are elevated to a philosophical as well as a theological category. In this sense, he speaks of an “ethos of compassion” to regenerate humanity.
- Global bioethics and interconnected challenges: A characteristic feature of Francis’ teaching is that he has broadened the scope of bioethics to include social, economic, and ecological dimensions. He insists that issues of life cannot be addressed in isolation, but must be placed within a “broad context of the globalized world.” This leads to linking the defense of unborn life with the fight against hunger and poverty, the protection of the disabled with the care of creation, and the protection of the elderly with the building of peace. The encyclical Laudato si’ (2015) and then Fratelli tutti (2020) provide the doctrinal framework: “integral ecology” requires us to see humanity as one family in a common home. This leads, for example, to the condemnation of the unequal distribution of vaccines or healthcare: for Francis, opposing health inequalities and guaranteeing universal access to essential goods (“vaccines for all”, “healthcare for all”) is an integral part of the ethics of life. vatican.va. This global approach represents a significant development in papal bioethical teaching: without in any way contradicting traditional principles, Francis integrates them into a broader horizon, responding to the challenges of globalization. As he wrote in his letter Humana communitas, the Church today is called to relaunch “the humanism of life” in the face of “a dramatic historical juncture” marked by paradoxes of progress and regression. He therefore proposes a true relational and solidarity-based paradigm for bioethics: every decision for life must take into account the bonds that unite us to others and to the environment. This is the common thread that unites seemingly different issues: from the selective abortion of disabled fetuses (which Francis condemns as an expression of the culture of waste) to the environmental devastation that denies a future to the next generations, there is a single underlying sin—individual and collective selfishness—and a single call to conversion—to rediscover ourselves as guardians of one another and of creation.
- Algorithmic ethics, roboethics, neuroethics: Francis is the first pope to have systematically addressed issues such as artificial intelligence, robotics, and neuroscience from an ethical perspective in his speeches. Pius XII and John Paul II had already touched on biotechnological issues of their time (transplants, genetics, artificial fertilization, etc.), but the rapid pace of innovation today has required an update of the Magisterium. Francis has responded actively: in his speeches from 2019 to 2024, he has developed a sort of “social doctrine” relating to the digital and technical-scientific world. The key concepts are:
- The centrality of the person: “the inherent dignity of every human being must be placed firmly at the center” even in the age of AI. Technology must serve and never dominate man. From this derives the principle that every automatism must be subject to ethical and legal control by man (human-in-the-loop).
- The primacy of reality over virtuality: Francis reminds us that human beings are physical beings and living relationships, and no digital simulation can replace personal encounters. This has ethical implications (e.g., in education and medicine: telemedicine does not eliminate the doctor-patient relationship) and anthropological implications (attention to the drifts of virtual reality and the metaverse).
- The difference between man and machine: this is always emphasized as qualitative, not just a matter of degree. While acknowledging the progress of AI (which can beat humans at chess or perform complex diagnoses), the Pope insists that “artificial devices that simulate human capabilities are, in reality, devoid of human qualities” vatican.va. They lack consciousness, freedom, and the capacity to love. Therefore, they should never be considered subjects of rights equivalent to humans, nor can ultimate moral decisions be delegated to them. In this context, Francis has welcomed and encouraged new terms such as “algor-ethics” (a neologism coined in 2017 by Prof. Luigi Lombardi Vallauri, philosopher of law, and promoted by the PAV through Father Paolo Benanti), to indicate the need to include ethical criteria in algorithms from the moment they are designed.
- Justice and inclusiveness in technology: the Pope has repeatedly warned of the risk that innovations will widen the gap between rich and poor (the digital divide). For example, as early as 2019, he noted how the propaganda of automatic well-being with market progress was belied by the spread of areas of poverty. In 2020, by signing the Rome Call for AI Ethics, the principle of inclusion (no one should be left behind in accessing these technologies) and impartiality (avoiding discriminatory algorithmic bias) was emphasized.
- The multilateral governance of converging technologies: in line with the social doctrine of the Church, Francis hopes that the international community and national legislators will work together to regulate fields such as genetic manipulation, military AI, and data protection, avoiding both dangerous regulatory gaps and technocratic colonization. He spoke of the need for “universally shared operational criteria” and to converge on a “universal ethic” based on human rights and duties.vatican.va.
- Anthropology of relationship and difference: Another common thread is the insistence on the relational identity of human beings. Francis sees in the “alliance between man and woman” not only the nucleus of the family, but the basic cell of a human society worthy of the name. He opposes ideological currents that would like to eliminate sexual difference (“gender ideology”) or reduce procreation to a technical fact. In 2017, he spoke clearly about “not denying sexual difference” and recovering a “generative alliance” between the sexes. This emphasis is not “off topic” with regard to bioethics: on the contrary, for Francis, the anthropological crisis at the root of the throwaway culture also involves the difficulty of accepting the other (and the greatest original otherness is precisely that between male and female, oriented toward mutual communion and generation). Egotism produces narcissism and self-referentiality (the “man-mirror” he spoke of in 2018); the answer is to rediscover the other as a gift, to rediscover the “generativity” of relationships. Generate and regenerate are key verbs in his language: they mean not only procreating children, but generating bonds, a culture of life, social inclusion, and a future. This is why the Pope speaks of a “guardian of planetary humanism” when referring to the alliance between men and women, and of “healing the fracture between generations” as a condition for transmitting life and faith. This aspect shows the unity between the magisterium on the family (exhortation Amoris Laetitia, 2016) and that on bioethics: both converge in promoting a culture of life that is also a culture of encounter between genders and generations, against the individualistic “culture of death.”
In conclusion, from 2013 to 2025, Pope Francis has progressively articulated a dynamic and prophetic bioethical magisterium, rooted in fidelity to enduring principles while engaging courageously with the novelties and complexities of contemporary challenges. He has approached technological evolution not with fear, but with critical discernment, consistently calling for the development of an ethics of algorithms—an algor-ethics—that upholds human dignity in the digital age (vatican.va). A unifying thread throughout his teaching is the fight against every form of the culture of waste, championed through a renewed culture of care: care for unborn and dying life, care for the sick and the marginalized, care for creation, and care for future generations.
In his addresses to the Pontifical Academy for Life, Francis constantly echoes the “deep conviction” that every human being is loved by God and possesses an inestimable worth. Building on this foundation, he has forged a bridge between the papal Magisterium and the scientific and technological frontiers of our time, encouraging dialogue with the biomedical, computational, and environmental sciences—provided that such dialogue remains integrated within a wise ethical and spiritual framework.
Thus, it can be said that Pope Francis, over these pivotal years, has broadened and enriched the Church’s bioethical teaching with an overarching vision—“human and humanizing”—that weaves together bioethics, algor-ethics, roboethics, and neuroethics into a single, coherent fabric of responsibility for life. As he wrote in Humana communitas, today the entire human community is called to forge a new covenant for life, recognizing every life as sacred and all creation as a gift—so that we may face the crises of our age with hope, with creativity, and with the wisdom of the Gospel.gressively outlined a dynamic and prophetic bioethical magisterium, attentive both to continuity with perennial principles and to the novelty of contemporary challenges. He has examined technological evolution not with fear, but with critical discernment, calling for the development of an algorithmic ethics worthy of human dignity in the digital age vatican.va vatican.va. He has identified as a common thread the fight against every culture of waste through a renewed culture of care: care for unborn and dying life, care for the sick and marginalized, care for creation and future generations. In his speeches to the Pontifical Academy for Life, he constantly echoes the “deep conviction” that every human being is loved by God and has an inestimable value. On this basis, Francis builds a bridge between the papal Magisterium and contemporary challenges: dialogue with the sciences (biomedical, computer, environmental) is encouraged, provided it is integrated into a wise ethical and spiritual horizon. It can therefore be said that Pope Francis, in recent years, has broadened and enriched the Church’s bioethical Magisterium with an overall vision – “human and humanizing” – that unites bioethics, algor-ethics, roboethics, and neuroethics in a single web of responsibility towards life. As he wrote in Humana communitas, the entire human community is called today to a new covenant for life, because only by recognizing every life as sacred and all creation as a gift can we face the crises of our time with hope and evangelical creativity.
